Courts / Wexford / Report
Retired garda jailed for harassing and threatening to kill solicitor and his wife
Summary
Maurice O'Carroll, a 63‑year‑old former Garda from Co. Wexford, was sentenced to two years in prison for harassing and threatening to kill an ex‑wife's solicitor and his wife between December 2019 and September 2020. He sent the solicitor five letters, one to the solicitor's wife accusing her husband of gambling, cheating, genocide, gun‑running and arms dealing, and another demanding she choose a child to die. The final letter contained a live and a spent bullet. O'Carroll also threatened the solicitor's children, saying they would be targeted and suffer great pain. He represented himself at trial, pleaded guilty, and offered a letter of apology and €20,000, which the victims declined. Judge Sarah Berkeley noted his low risk of re‑offending, imposed a three‑year sentence with the final year suspended, and ordered him to refrain from contacting the victims for five years. The unnamed accused was found guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Retired garda jailed for harassing and threatening to kill solicitor and his wife. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- December 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2024-05-07 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; A retired garda who falsely accused his ex-wife's solicitor of genocide before sending the solicitor's wife bullets and threatening to kill their children has been jailed for two years. She handed down a sentence of three years and suspended the final year on a number of conditions, including that he refrain from contacting his victims for a period of five years.
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